Rum is one of the favorite cocktail mixers, appearing in numerous drinks. Before you try every rum cocktail out there, start off with the following list, which includes the most popular drinks with rum. Each of these has been around for decades without signs of losing popularity. Some of these cocktails also serve as the base for others. For almost every rum drink, you will pour all of the ingredients into your cocktail shaker along with some ice cubes and shake the mixture well before straining them into a cocktail glass (chilled) to serve.

Daiquiri

Daiquiris can vary, but the main ingredients are always rum, a citrus (like lime juice) and a sweetener, such as sugar. It is one of the basic rum drinks and are named after a beach and iron mine near Santiago, Cuba. Jennings Cox, an American mining-engineer, is famed with the invention of the drink.

Ingredients

Amount

Light rum

1 ½ ounces

Lime juice

¾ ounce

Simple syrup

¼ ounce

Mojito

The mojito started in Cuba and was Ernest Hemmingway’s second favorite cocktail. This fashionable cocktail has gained in popularity since the 1980s and is now frequently served with a great deal of added sweetness, but that is not always the case.

Ingredients

Amount

Lime, juiced

½

White sugar

1 tablespoon

Mint leaves

5

Ice cubes

As you like

White rum

2 ounces

Soda water

4 ounces

Lime wedge

1

Mai Tai

Mai Tais are the favorites rum drinks for luau-themed parties and beach vacations. These drinks were originally made by Jamaican rum that was 17-years-old, orgeat imported from France, Dutch curacao and some fresh lime juice, but today, the recipe has changed slightly.

Ingredients

Amount

Jamaican rum

2 ounces (but for authentic flavor, do one ounce Appleton Extra and one ounce St. James 15-years Hors D’Age rum)

Juice of a lime

1 medium (save the shell)

Curacao

½ ounce

Orgeat

¼ ounce

Rock candy syrup

¼ ounce

Mint

For garnish

Hurricane

This drink was debuted at the World’s Fair in 1939 and gained popularity in New Orleans in the 1940s at Pat O’Briens bar. The drink was originally served in hurricane-shaped glasses which gives it the name, and was a means of getting rid of an excessive stock of rum when the owner of the bar was forced to buy excessive quantities of rum by his southern distributors.

Ingredients

Amount

Light rum

2 ounces

Dark rum

2 ounces

Passion fruit juice

2 ounces

Orange juice

1 ounce

Juice of a lime

Half a lime

Simple syrup

1 tablespoon

Grenadine

1 tablespoon

Cherry

For garnish

Orange slice

For garnish

Planter's Punch

This classic rum cocktail made its first appearance in 1908 in the New York Times. The origin of this drink is disputed with stories, ranging from the wife of a Jamaican planter who created it to keep workers cool to the Planter’s Hotel in St. Louis.

Ingredients

Amount

White rum

1 cup

Fresh orange juice

1 cup

Pineapple juice

1 cup

Bottled guava nectar

1 cup

Sugar

2 tablespoons

Fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons

Angostura bitters

¼ teaspoon

Garnish

Cinnamon sticks

6

Fresh pineapple slices

6

Orange slices

6

Maraschino cherries

6

Grated nutmeg, optional

¼ teaspoon

Piña Colada

This drink has always been popular, but has grown greatly since 1979 when Rupert Holmes released “Escape”, the Piña Colada song. The drink was created by Ramon “Monchito” Marrero Perez in Caribe Hilton of San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1954. This drink is blended with ice before serving.

Ingredients

Amount

White rum

2 ounces

Pineapple juice

6 ounces

Cream of coconut

1 ½ ounces

Heavy cream

1 ounce

Maraschino cherry

1, for garnish

Pineapple wedge

1, for garnish

Hot Buttered Rum

This classic hot drink is perfect for fall campfires and can even be made using a red hot poker method if you do indeed drink it around the campfire. For this method, simply stick a red hot poker in the middle without touching the glass.

Ingredients

Amount

Soft butter

1 small slice

Brown sugar

1 teaspoon

Ground cinnamon, allspice, ground nutmeg

To taste, optional

Dark rum

2 ounces

Hot water

As you like

Vanilla extract

As you like

Dark and Stormy

This is Bermuda’s national drink and a popular option for sailors. It is darker than the typical tropical drinks, but still refreshing.

Ingredients

Amount

Gosling’s black seal rum

2 ounces

Barrit’s ginger beer

3 ounces

Lime wedge

For garnish

Tips

Don't forget to have a snack with your rum cocktail!

To get a cocktail with the best flavor, opt for fresh ice made using filtered, pure water as there won’t be any flavors of other foods from the freezer. Try bringing the water to a boil quickly for optimal results.